Harvesting of sugar in the southern states has come down drastically due to the failure of monsoons last year.

The Dollar Business Bureau

The Central government has allowed imports of 3 lakh metric tonnes of raw sugar at a concessional rate of 25% tariff duty. The sugar can be imported only through southern ports such as Tuticorin, Chennai in Tamilnadu, Karaikal in Puducherry, Mangalore in Karnataka, Kakinada, Vishakhapatnam and Gangavaram in Andhra Pradesh.

According to the notification released by the DGFT No- 27/2015-2020 dated September 7, 2017, the validity of the tariff duty of 25% is for 60 days ie until the 1st week of November.

The move to allow the imports of raw sugar by the government comes after sugar mills in Tamilnadu sought permission to import the commodity duty-free.

Harvesting of sugar in the state has come down drastically due to the failure of monsoons last year.

Hitherto sugar mills in the state had the capacity to produce 30 lakh tonnes of sugar a year. With the failure of monsoons, it is expected that the mills can now produce only 5.5 to 6 lakh tonnes of sugar while the demand for sugar is expected to increase in the coming months due to the festival season.

Keeping in mind the poor monsoon experienced by the southern states last year, the Central government had in April permitted duty-free import of 5 lakh tonnes of sugar.

The southern states especially Tamilnadu and Karnataka have experienced consecutively poor rainfall for the past 3 years. With sugar stocks depleting and with the demand for sugar increasing in the next two months, it will be a great relief for millers/refiners to note that the government has now allowed the import of 3 lakh MT of raw sugar at a concessional rate.

The Union minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Ramvilas Paswan had tweeted on Monday night that the government will soon take a decision on sugar imports.